The invention relates to a self-propelled forage harvester comprising a main frame with frame parts extending on both sides of the forage harvester, in the longitudinal direction thereof, and a chopping assembly having, downstream thereof, a preparation and conveyor device, substantially comprising a post-chopping device, a discharge accelerator, and a tower connected to an upper discharge chute, a heat exchanger and an internal combustion engine, and comprising lateral covering elements, which close, to the outside, an engine compartment accommodating the internal combustion engine and the heat exchanger, and a compartment partially accommodating the preparation and conveyor device.
A self-propelled forage harvester is an agricultural harvesting machine, by means of which a stalk crop or corn is picked up via a front attachment, is then fed to a preparation device comprising compression rollers, a chopping assembly and post-chopping devices, and, finally, is fed via a discharge accelerator and a swivellable upper discharge chute to a collecting vehicle. An adjustable flap disposed at the end of the upper discharge chute is used to direct the crop emerging therefrom such that this crop reaches the collecting vehicle and such that this collecting vehicle is completely filled.
A self-propelled forage harvester of the type set forth in the preamble of claim 1 is known from DE 197 42 846 A1. This is a self-propelled forage harvester, in the case of which the crop that is cut and picked up by a front harvesting attachment reaches a chopping assembly and, from there, reaches a conditioning device for preparation. From there, the prepared crop is fed to a post-accelerator, which conveys this prepared crop via an upper discharge chute to a hauling vehicle. Adjoining the post-accelerator is a conveyor chute, which is enclosed by a conveyor tower, wherein the conveyor tower, the post-accelerator, and the post-chopping device are disposed in a region behind a driver's cab and in front of the heat exchanger, which is referred to as the maintenance compartment. The engine compartment and the maintenance compartment are closed to the outside on both sides by means of vertically extending covering elements. One of these covering elements comprises a flap, which obviously can be opened for maintenance work.
Furthermore, document DE 100 63 555 B4 discloses a protective guard for a self-propelled forage harvester, which comprises a service opening above feed rollers of the chopping assembly, wherein this service opening can be covered by a protective guard. The protective guard, which should comprise a flexible material, can be equipped with a service flap.